Largs Thistle 1
Clydebank 2
League (WoSFL Premier)

Match Report

Clydebank only turned up for this game after 75 minutes had been played, and when they did they managed to reverse a 1-0 deficit and come away from Barrfields with an unlikely three points thanks to a Nicky Little double in the latter stages of the match.

Largs must be feeling pretty distraught about this result, as it looked like their 69th minute goal from David Ramsay was going to be enough to seal the win. They had worked their socks off and had been the much better side throughout much of the second half, and had Ramsay scored his second when put clean through then there would surely have been no way back for the Bankies.

However, the last fifteen minutes were a complete calamity for the Ayrshire side as not only did they contrive to lose the match, substitute defender John Tennant was given a straight red card by hauling down Hamish McKinlay as he was about to run clear on goal.

It really is quite unusual to see such a complete turnaround in a match, as the Bankies looked clueless for long spells, and when Largs scored it was hard to see where a goal was going to come from.

Certainly, the substitutions made a difference. Nicky Low and Ikechi Eze both came on for their debuts. Eze had a fairly subdued introduction to life with the Bankies, but there is no question about Low’s ability. Some of his precise passing was a cut above what we normally see. He was instrumental in the Bankies winning this game.

The other sub who really made an impact was Hamish McKinlay. Arguably, the fightback began once he took to the field. He ran the defence ragged and caused no end of trouble, bagging an assist for himself and was at the centre of the action for the sending off. McKinlay has struggled for form in recent times, so this was a welcome cameo he played today.

In terms of action, it was for the most part a fairly dreich game, on a very dreich day - with not a lot of scoring chances. The Bankies probably had the better of the first half hour, but mainly from breakaways.

There were two or three occasions when the Bankies broke forward with slick passing moves. The best of which was from a move down the right wing that was started by McHugh, and involving Gallacher and Weir. Josh slid the ball across the six yard box for Nicky Little but McGowan reacted quickly to block his shot.

The other attempts came from Gallacher, also on the break. The first was a curling shot that deflected off a defender and flew straight to Kelly, but his instinctive volley went over the top.

Kelly was the architect the next time. He made a fantastic powering run from his own half – and managed to find Little just outside the box. Little played in Gallacher, and he underhit his attempted chip with Little screaming for a return pass.

All the while, Largs became stronger as the game went on. They were starting to pin the Bankies back, and a whole slew of bad clearances and ill-judged passes were making like more difficult. Thankfully, half time came with Thistle only really properly threatening from a number of corner kicks they earned.

The second half brought no real change in pattern, as Largs continued to strengthen their grip. Again, Largs were not desperately threatening, but it began to look like the first goal was going to be the winner.

Strangely, it could have been the Bankies who got it when a Creag Little header from a Lee Gallacher cross came off the top of the bar after 52 minutes. Had this gone in, it would have been seriously against the run of play.

The Bankies brought on Low, then Eze for their debuts, tweaking the system to try and break the pattern of play, but it was the home side who finally took the lead after 69 minutes.

A free kick from the right wing was touched into the box for Ramsay, and the striker neatly lifted the ball past the exposed Donnelly.

The Bankies looked in deep trouble at this point and just minutes later it should have been all over when Ramsay was put through again. It looked certain that the striker would double his tally, but Donnelly read the situation superbly coming off his line to make a vital block.

Largs then lost the important Cory Hughes to injury, and he was replaced by John Tennant who had a bit of a nightmare. He was booked within minutes for an egregious attempt at getting Frazer Johnstone sent off. Gordon Moffat quickly read the situation and took off Johnstone and brought on McKinlay and this is when the game changed.

The Bankies had a great spell of pressure for the first time, and were almost rewarded with a debut goal for Nicky Low. A cross made it’s way to him at the back post and from a tight angle he hit a sweet volley with the outside of his boot, only for a defender to stick out a leg and block it.

The break came with just ten minutes left. A deep cross into the box was about to find Nicky Little when the ball came off Laurie McMaster’s hand. It didn’t seem deliberate, but these are the rules nowadays.

Nicky Little did the necessary, and rather than settle for the point the Bankies went on full on assault mode to get the winner..

Little worked a neat one-two with McKinlay, but his attempt to guide the ball towards the top corner saw the ball sail over the bar. This was a completely different Clydebank side now. Suddenly passes were being made, and it looked that if there was going to be a winner it was going be for the red team.

With just a minute left on the clock the decisive blow was struck. Low started the build up with a superb screwed pass out wide to Alan Kelly. The winger continued the move finding McKinlay in the box. The striker - probably shooting – managed to lift the ball over the head of the keeper from an acute angle however it was going wide. No one counted on the acrobatics of Nicky Little who contorted himself to knock the ball high into the net.

The roar from the covered enclosure was something else. Nicky Little could have scored another two in stoppage time, but the only other real action came when justice was served against John Tennant when he was sent off for a professional foul on McKinlay.

So, it was a bit of a steal in the end. We got 15 minutes of how this Clydebank side can play, but that is now two weeks in a row that the players have had to come from behind to win. Character – yes – but not something you want to see every week. With the exception of Pollok, all the clubs above the Bankies dropped points. There is still a faint flicker there, so the players need to keep fighting.

We now break for cup competitions for the next two weeks. The Bankies are on a run of 10 wins in 11 matches, and with Lower league opposition in the shape of Cumbernauld United next week, we should really be looking to extend the run.

Match report written by Stuart McBay